


Surrender (There's No Escaping Me)

by FairyQueen (etoilecourageuse)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, Haunting, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 21:43:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5065375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etoilecourageuse/pseuds/FairyQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Druella Black has never been afraid of ghosts, until one night changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surrender (There's No Escaping Me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluemermaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemermaid/gifts).



Druella Black had never been afraid of ghosts. Her husband, though he knew better, would at times claim that there was nothing at all she was afraid of, only to conjure a smile upon her face, and yet… Yet of course there was. But she had never been afraid of ghosts, not as a girl and not now, would laugh at the tales and shake her head, remembering her time at school and the Bloody Baron who had never succeeded at frightening her. 

She had never been afraid of ghosts, but this… This was different. This was so beyond different. The moans were quiet yet enough to wake her from her sleep, causing her to sit up in her bed and to instinctively seek Cygnus’ touch, careful not to wake him, holding her breath as she listened… 

Nothing. There was nothing, and Druella sighed as she sank back into her pillows, surprised by her folly; of course there was nothing, as it had been a dream, merely a dream… Hadn’t she had such countless nightmares before, nightmares that had caused her to jolt from her sleep nearly screaming and only capable of being soothed by her husband, so ashamed of herself, so disgusted by her weakness? It had to be her mind, once more fooling her, it had to be… 

Of course there was nothing. Moans… What a fool she was, to allow herself to be unsettled by her imagination once more, to allow her weariness to assume control even in waking. What a fool she was to, for a moment, truly believe… Nothing. Even if there had been a noise coming from outside, whether a moan or not, it could have been the wind howling through an open window in the corridor, another boggart in the cupboard, or her daughters. Andromeda was prone to sleep walking at times, and Narcissa… Narcissa had spent many a night in the library reading. There was nothing to be concerned about; nothing at all. 

And yet… Yet sleep would not return to Druella, as she found herself listening still, still holding, squeezing Cygnus’ hand, nearly absently. Minutes had passed by the time she closed her eyes once more, allowing her body to relax… 

Again. There they were once more, louder this time and startling her, causing her to nearly instinctively rise from her bed and to head for the door, her hands trembling as she lifted them to her face to brush away a lock of hair from her eyes. What a fool she was… What a fool she was to follow nothing, what a fool she was to… 

Once more she sighed, hesitated to open the door as though she were afraid… No. She was not afraid; what could she possibly be afraid of, what could possibly await her? Darkness. There would be nothing but darkness, only darkness, perhaps a faint gleam of moonlight… What could she possibly be afraid of? A ghost? A… Druella nearly laughed, opened the door at last and stepped into the corridor, suddenly shivering with cold. 

The moans grew louder and it felt as though she had gone into a trance as she walked, quietly whispering to herself as though to calm the sudden feeling of unease that began to rise within her. Was she dreaming? Had she perhaps never woken and not realised that this was a nightmare, that she needed merely…? No. 

Once more Druella could have cursed herself for her folly, could have cursed herself for following the noise that was now nearly pushing her into insanity, that was now causing her to cover her ears with her hands so firmly to silence the moans… Yet it was to no avail. The moans, the terrible moans, were getting louder and louder with every step she took… It seemed impossible to convince herself that it was the wind, merely the wind, that the autumn leaves were rustling outside the window, that… 

The moans, the voice… Was it calling for her? Was it calling out her name, was…? 

She had never been afraid of ghosts… She had never been afraid of ghosts! Besides, were there truly ghosts that had come to haunt her home, ghosts or creatures of any other kind? Why now, why so suddenly? What had she done to deserve to be pulled from her sleep in such a way, to be tormented like this? What was happening to her? 

Cygnus… Druella gasped for breath, turned around and nearly began to run as she needed her husband, her Cygnus… Only Cygnus would know how to put an end to this, only Cygnus would know what… The world began to spin around her and she screamed. Druella screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw him then, saw his face so clearly before her, as he raised his arms as though to choke her, his hands still covered in… 

Her father… Her father who had done such unspeakable things to her during his lifetime, whom she had… She dared not finish her thought, too overwhelmed by memories even now, all these years later, dared not… He was here… He was here, he had found her, come to haunt her once more, he was… Her father… He had hurt her, had hurt her so beyond belief, had hurt her each day of her life… It had been an accident, an accident as she had pushed him away in an attempt to free herself from his grip, an accident as he had stumbled, fallen… It had been an accident! His moans… His… He had found her… 

Druella had never been afraid of ghosts… She had never been afraid of ghosts! But this… This was so different… 

Once more she screamed as she felt firm hands grip her shoulders, cried out in despair yet found no strength to fight back, did not realise that she had sunk to her knees until she was pulled up with a gentle force, did not realise until moments later that it was Cygnus who had come for her, Cygnus, her husband, her soul, Cygnus who was now speaking to her so quietly, so tenderly… Druella could not understand his words yet she clung to him, clung to him so desperately, burying her face in the fabric of his night clothes as tears began to spill from her eyes, as she began to sob sheer uncontrollably, gasping for air where none could be given… 

She had never been afraid of ghosts… 

Wearily she collapsed into bed beside her husband, still holding onto him, still close to hysteria. The moans… Only slowly her breathing steadied and the moans fell silent at last, giving place to Cygnus’ soothing whispers. He knew. Of course he knew what she had seen, what she had heard, knew what had happened… Of course he knew. And once more he had saved her, had saved her from the ghosts, her own, personal ghosts, the ghosts she wished so despairingly to ban from her memory forever, the ghosts that would always come to haunt her, that she would always fear so beyond words, so beyond measure. 

Druella Black had never been afraid of ghosts… What a fool she had been to believe it to be the truth.


End file.
